Heel for boots and shoes



J. E. GROSJEAN HEEL FOR BOOTS AND SHOES Nov. 24 1925 Filed Dec I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented Nov. 24, 1925.

UNITED sures PATENT. OFFICE.

JAIEB I. GBOSJBAN, 01' L11, OHIO.

HEEL FOB BOOTS AND 830:8.

, Application fled December 7, 1921. Serial Io. 580,887.

which the following is a s ecifica'tion.

The present invention re ates to improvements in heels for boots and shoes and more especially to those of the so-called cushion type employing a rubber compound or composition as a body or constituent thereof. The primary object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved whole or half eel of this type which comprises a tread or body composed of a substantially nonyielding or rigid breast and a rear part of relatively soft or yielding material, heels of this kind not only possessing great wearresisting properties while affording the desired degree of cushioning action, but also meeting the requirements of corrective shoes, the breast being capable of effectually preventing tilting or twisting thereof under the wei ht of the wearer. The heel according to t e present invention referably comprises an attaching base which is composed of multiple plies of woven or other textile fabric, with intervening plies or layers of rubber, the base so constructed being readily puncturable by the nails or similar securing devices which are forced or driven partially through the heel and into the boot or shoe and it provides a tough and strong backing for the heads of the nails or securing devices that will prevent pulling or working of the nail heads through the base. The base is very securely and intimately united with the constituent parts of the body of the heel by extruded portions of the intervening rubber layers which are squeezed out from between the fabric plies and become vulcanized with the surrounding or adjacent ortions of the body of the heel during mol mg and curing thereof. I have discovered that the attaching base can be so secured to the constituent arts of the body of the heel as to effectual y prevent their detachment under any strains to which the heel may be subjected during-its use, by em loying layers of high quality or substantial y pure rubber between the fabric layers of the base, the portions of these rubber layers which become extruded and vulcanized to the surroundin or adjacent rtions of the body of thehee during moltiihg and curing forming highly elastic and strong multiple ties or bonds between the base and the body of the heel and these elastic ties or bonds will securely unite the base and body of the heel and yel they will yield and resile to accommodate themselves to strains or stresses imposed on the heel and which would otherwise tend to cause separation or detachment of the body of the heel from the attaching member.

Whole or half heels constructed in accord-' ance with the present invention may be easily, quickly and permanently secured to boots or shoes lay the ordinary securing nails commonly use and which nails may be driven simultaneously and at any desired points through the heel until their heads engage and become firmly anchored against the under side of the attaching base, the ob ections incident to the making, attachin and wearing of heels having metal nai receiving washers embedded therein, being' avoided.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations and arrangements of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the features of novelty being pointed out particularly in the claim at the end of the specification.

In the accompanying drawin Figure 1 re resents a longitudinal section taken throu a portion of a shoe and a whole heel t ereon, the heel being constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 represents a transverse section through the heel shown in Figure 1, the section being taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Fi re 3 is a view similar to Figure 1,

showln'g in longitudinal vertical section a half heel made in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 4 re resents a transverse section .through the ha f heel taken on the line 4-'4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of either the whole or half heel shown, illustrating the tread thereof;

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view repre senting an edge of the composite attaching base as it appears prior to compression;

Figure 7 1s a view similar to Figure 6 illustratin substantially the ap earance of the edge 0 the attaching base su bsequent to compression; and

Figure Sis a diagrammatic view illustrating the condition of the attaching base subsequent to vulcanization within the body of the heel.

Similar parts are designated by the same reference characters in the several views.

The invention in its preferred embodiments is shown in the accompanying drawings and will be hereinafter described in detail. It is to be understood however that the invention is not restricted to the precise constructions shown, as equivalent constructions are contemplated and these will be included within the scope of the claim.

In the embodiments of the invention shown in Figures 1 and 3, whole and half heels respectively are illustrated in which. the relatively yielding or cushion-like body is com osed of a section 1 or 1 which is preferaily prepared or compounded to conform substantially with the rubber compound used in high-grade rubber heels, and a relatively harder non-yielding section 2 or 2 which forms the breast of the heel, a heel of this kind being especially adapted for use on corrective shoes where it is necessary to prevent twisting or tilting of the breast of the heel. The section 2 or 2" is composed of a compound prepared especially for this purpose, it being preferably composed mainly of a fibrous or textile fabric material which may be ground or disintegrated and combined with a rubber compound which is different from the compound form ing the remainder of the heel in that it produces a hard substantially non-yielding breast, but will cure in substantially the same time required for the curing of the rubber compounds regularly used in high grade rubber heels. The attaching base 3 is embedded in the body of the heel and it may have substantially the form shown and described in my Patent No. 1,439,547, granted December 19, 1922, in which case the upper side of the body of the heel will be provided with a cavity 4 above the fabric to permit the middle or intermediate portion of the fabric base to yield upwardly for the purposes and to secure the functions and advantages set forth fully in my latter mentioned application.

The attaching base, according to the present invention is composed of a suitable number of layers of a tough woven or other textile fabric, such as canvas, these layers of fabric being designated 5 in the present instance, and layers of rubber 6 which are located above and below and are interposed between the plies or layers of fabric. The rubber layers 6 are composed preferably of substantially pure rubber or rubber of the highest grade that can be used, such for example, as the rubber used in the manufacture of ordinary rubber bands and it sesses substantially greater elasticity t an the rubber compound composing the body of the heel. The attaching base is prepared by assembling a suitable number of plies of fabric and the layers of rubber in uncured condition which have been punched or cut to the same size, the appearance of the fabric plies and rubber layers at this time be ing substantially as illustrated in Figure 6. This composite fabric and rubber structure is placed in the usual mold, together with the uncured rubber compound or compounds to form the body of the heel, and the whole is then subjected to heat and compressionto effect curing thereof. The compression which is applied to the top and bottom surfaces of the heel causes the high-grade rubber layers between the plies of fabric to be partially squeezed out from between the plies of fabric, substantially as is illustrated in Figure 7, and the portions of these layers of high-grade rubber which are so extruded beyond the periphery of the fabric plies, together with the layers of high-grade rubber on the top and bottom of the composite rubber and fabric structure will become intimately vulcanized to the rubber compounds forming the body of the heel.

Figures 3 and 4 show a half heel provided with an attaching base similar to that shown in Figures 1 and 2 and described in connection therewith. In Figures 3 and 4, the body 1 of the half heel composed of a rubber compound such as that used for highgrade rubber heels, and the breast 2 composed of a substantially non-yielding or rigid compound like that composing the breast 2 in Figs. 1 and 2 are united by an attaching base which is composed of the fabric plies 5 and the high-grade rubber layers 6 may be prepared and shaped as shown in Figures 1 and 2 and described in. connection therewith. In making half heels embodying the invention, the cavity 4 may be formed by directly depressing the attaching base, which latter is preferably flush with the upper surface of the half heel.

The attaching base in each instance is somewhat smaller than the body of the heel, although'it conforms generally to the outline of the heel, as will be understood from Figure 5 and the tread ofthe heel may be formed with rosettes 7 or otherwise shaped projections to provide an anti-slipping surace.

The high grade rubber composing the layers 6 or 6* and the less elastic rubber compound composing the body of the heel are preferably so prepared orscompounded that they will cure or become vulcanized simultaneously or in the same length of time, it being understood that these rubber constituents are initially raw or uncured so that they will flow readily under the compression imposed upon them in the mold and that the curing or vulcanizing operation gives them their permanent form and elasticity I and produces the intimate and secure bond or-union between the highly elastic rubber layers of the attaching base and the rubber of t e heel.

The finished heel can be easily, quickly and securely fastened to a boot or shoe. The

composite fabric and rubber structure composing the attaching base is readily puncturable by the nails ordinarily used for securing rubber heels to shoes, and these nails are preferably driven upwardly through the tread or body and through the marginal portion of the attaching base and into the shoe until the heads of the nails come up against the under side of the attaching member, substantially as shown, appropriately located nail-receiving holes 8 being formed in the body of the heel, if desired, although these holes are unnecessary as the nails may be driven at any desired points, and they may be driven simultaneously, all the objections found to exist in the nailing of heels having nail-receiving washers embedded therein, being avoided. The attaching base will effectually withstand any tendency to pull the nail heads through it, and furthermore, the attaching base, constructed and a plied in substantially the manner above escribed, will effectually withstand any forces or strains, incident to walking or other causes, and tending to cause separation or pulling off of the body of the heel or its constituent parts, as the layers of high grade elastic rubber between the fabric plies will be intimately vulcanized to the surrounding or adjacent rubber compounds composing the body of the heel so that these parts of the heel are bonded to one another by multiple ties of highly elastic rubber which will stretch if necessary, to accommodate themselves to stresses imposed on the heel but they will not break, and hence they will always maintain a secure union between the attaching base and the body of the heel. The interposed layers of rubber, it will be comtpounds composing the parts of the bodyunderstood, also serve to unite the fabric plies, and the resulting union enables the elastic rubber layers to utilize the strength of the fabric plies to reinforce them. 'lhe attaching base comprising the layers of fabric and rubber, when used in a heel having a non-yielding or rigid breast and a relatively soft yielding rear tread part, serves as a vconnecting member to securely unite these parts of the heel, thus avoiding breaking apart or separation of the breast and rear part at the joint between them, under strains to which the "heel is subjected in use and which would be likely to occur if vulcanizing of the breast and rear part of the heel at the joint were alone depended upon.. The attaching base or connecting member, when used in a heel of this kind, is vulcanized throughout its length to the breast and rear tread part of the heel, and it extends across the joint formed between these parts, it thus not only sustaining forces tending to separate the breast and rear part of the heel, but it also holding the breast and the rear part of the heel in the region of the joint between them, in proper alinement.

I claim as my invention A heel for boots and shoes comprising a body composed of a breast of rigid material and a rear tread part of soft yielding material, and a connecting member composedof a plurality of plies of fabric and interposed layers of rubber extending substantially parallel to the tread of the heel, the adjacent edges of said breast and rear part of the heel being vulcanized together, and the connecting member extending across the joint thus formed between the breast and rear part of the heel and vulcanized to the breast and rear part of the heel, the connecting member thereby tying together the breast and rear part of the heel and strengthening the joint formed between them.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JAMES E. GROSJEAN. 

